Study: Meditators 'surprisingly' alert

Meditation produces changes in brain waves associated with being increasingly alert, say an Australian researcher.

Dylan DeLosAngeles, of the Flinders Medical Center in Adelaide, is to present his findings this month at the World Congress of Neuroscience in Melbourne.

Previous studies proved conflicting about meditation's impact on the brain, with some studies reporting that meditators were asleep, DeLosAngeles said.

DeLosAngeles asked 13 people in a meditation group to describe their experiences of five different meditative states. DeLosAngeles then measured brain activity in each state using an electroencephalograph, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday.

DeLosAngeles said he found an increase in alpha brain waves associated with alertness, focus, attention and concentration, and a decrease in delta brain waves associated with drowsiness or sleep.

"Meditation is a finely held state of attentiveness and alertness that differs from eyes-closed resting or sleep," he concluded.